Section Headings
Tier 1 · The normative floor
Baseline compliance
What the normative text of WCAG 2.2 requires, and nothing more. Only a failure of this tier is a WCAG failure.
The bare minimum
Section headings are used to organize the content.
Normative text
Verbatim from WCAG 2.2, W3C Recommendation 12 December 2024. Underlined terms are defined below.
Section headings are used to organize the content.
Not required by the normative text
Common claims that this criterion does not support. Don't log these as WCAG failures.
- Headings for user interface components. W3C's informative note says this covers sections within writing.
Definitions used (2)
Glossary definitions are normative. Their notes are informative.
- section
-
a self-contained portion of written content that deals with one or more related topics or thoughts
Informative notes (1)
A section may consist of one or more paragraphs and include graphics, tables, lists and sub-sections.
- user interface component
-
a part of the content that is perceived by users as a single control for a distinct function
Informative notes (3)
Multiple user interface components may be implemented as a single programmatic element. "Components" here is not tied to programming techniques, but rather to what the user perceives as separate controls.
User interface components include form elements and links as well as components generated by scripts.
What is meant by "component" or "user interface component" here is also sometimes called "user interface element".
Notes in the criterion Informative
WCAG 2.2 lists notes among its informative material, which "does not create requirements that impact a conformance claim." They help interpret the criterion but are not part of the floor.
"Heading" is used in its general sense and includes titles and other ways to add a heading to different types of content.
This success criterion covers sections within writing, not user interface components. User interface components are covered under Success Criterion 4.1.2.
Tier 2 · The gap
Usability & user impact
Where content can meet this criterion and still make things harder for people with disabilities. These are not failures of SC 2.4.10, so raise them as usability defects. Known failures, including failures of related criteria, are listed in Tier 1.
Headings used for styling rather than structure create a misleading outline.
Tier 3 · The golden path
Recommended best practice
The pattern that meets the floor, closes the gap, and avoids audit disputes. A recommendation, not a requirement.
Break long content into headed sections that follow a logical outline.
W3C's Understanding document and techniques for SC 2.4.10 ↗ are informative: sufficient techniques show ways to pass, and documented failures show common ways to fail, but neither changes what the criterion requires.
How SC 2.4.10 maps to the WCAG 3 draft
From this site's reviewed map to the WCAG 3 editor's draft. It's an interpretation: W3C has not published a mapping.
Successor provisions
From WCAG 2.2, section 5.1: “The main content of WCAG 2.2 is normative and defines requirements that impact conformance claims. Introductory material, appendices, sections marked as "non-normative", diagrams, examples, and notes are informative (non-normative). Non-normative material provides advisory information to help interpret the guidelines but does not create requirements that impact a conformance claim.”